Valentin Oberkersch

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Valentin Oberkersch (born February 28, 1920 in India , Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes ; † December 22, 2004 in Stuttgart ) was a German author of publications on Yugoslav German history of the 20th century .

Life

Valentin Oberkersch attended the “Old Serbian Gymnasium” in Sremski Karlovci (German Karlowitz ) after primary school in Inđija, Syria . In 1939 he studied law and political science in Belgrade . After a year he moved to the teacher training institute in Vrbas ( Neu-Werbass ) and received training as a teacher. Since his earliest youth he was a member of the Swabian-German Cultural Association .

After the collapse of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia , he was appointed by ethnic group leader Branimir Altgayer to the youth leadership of the German ethnic group in Osijek (German Essegg ). In 1942, Oberkersch took part in the Second World War in Russia and France as a soldier . After the end of the war, he was taken prisoner by the British, from which he was able to escape. At first he worked as a construction worker in Klagenfurt (Austria). In 1947 he continued his studies at the University of Graz and received his doctorate in law and political science in 1952 . He then studied history and philosophy for eight semesters at the University of Graz, but before completing his dissertation on “The Germans in Croatia” he entered the German school service and in 1962 took on a teaching position in Stuttgart, where he worked until his retirement.

In 1948 Oberkersch married Maria Schneider from Beočin (German Beotschin ) in the Batschka , with whom he had four sons; Herwig, Reinhard, Volker and Walter.

plant

Valentin Oberkersch wrote several publications on historical Yugoslavian German topics.

As managing director of the "Central Advisory Office for the People's Germans" in Graz, Oberkersch stood up for his expelled compatriots. He continued this work in Stuttgart. The " Heimatortsgemeinschaft (HOG) India" elected him from 1974 to 1997 as its chairman. In this capacity he published the “Indiaer Heimatbücher” from 1978 and 1996, wrote 71 Indian newsletters and in 1988 donated the “Dr. Stefan Kraft badge ". When Oberkersch handed over the chairmanship of the HOG to Adam Kraft due to illness, he was appointed honorary chairman.

Publications (selection)

  • The Germans in Syrmia, Slavonia, Croatia and Bosnia. Donauschwäbische Kulturstiftung, Munich 1989. ISBN 3-92627-607-X , 566S.
  • India: German life in Eastern Syrmia: 1825-1944. Indian Hometown Committee, 1978. 406S.
  • India. 1. Text and photo book, volume 1. Donauschwäbische Kulturstiftung, Munich 1996. ISBN 3-92627-624-X , 958S.
  • The Banat Swabians. Brief history of a south-east German ethnic group; with a folklore appendix. Cultural department of the Landsmannschaft der Banat Schwaben , Munich 1959. 118S.

Collaboration with:

  • Josef Beer , Georg Wildmann , Hans Sonnleitner et al .: The suffering of the Germans in Communist Yugoslavia. Four volumes. Federal Association of the Landsmannschaft of Danube Swabians. Documentation Working Group, Donauschwäbische Kulturstiftung, Munich 1992.
  • Volume I: Local Reports , 1991
  • Volume II: Experience reports , 1993
  • Volume III: Shootings - Extermination Camps - Children's Fates , 1995
  • Volume IV: Human Loss - Names and Numbers , 1993

rating

The historian Johann Böhm assessed Oberkersch's publication: "The Germans in Syrmia, Slavonia, Croatia and Bosnia": "The publication [...] gives useful insights into the historical development of the German minority and their relationship to the Yugoslav state from 1918 to 1941, but downplayed the penetration of National Socialist ideology, the role of the Nazi renewal movement from 1934 to 1941 and the founding of the NS ethnic group leaderships in Croatia and in the Serbian Banat from April 1941. Therefore, one need not be surprised if Oberkersch is among the former high NS - Officials such as Josef Beer , Dr. Sepp Janko , Jakob Lichtenberger and others for their support in writing his book. "

literature

  • Walter Engel : German literature in the Banat (1840-1939): the contribution of the cultural magazines to the Banat Swabian intellectual life. Julius Groos Verlag, Heidelberg 1982.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johann Böhm : The German ethnic groups in the independent state of Croatia and in the Serbian Banat. Your relationship to the Third Reich 1941-1944. ISBN 978-3-631-63323-6 , p. 17.
personal data
SURNAME Oberkersch, Valentin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author of publications on Yugoslav German history
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH India , Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
DATE OF DEATH December 22, 2004
Place of death Stuttgart